Pallets of various designs are known, for storage of various articles. Often, a pallet is designed specifically to support a particular article or articles. Also, some pallets are adapted to be stacked one upon the other, in order to minimize the floor space which is occupied by the pallets. Stacking pallets is feasible only where equipment adapted to lift the pallets for stacking is available.
In manufacturing businesses in which mass production techniques are employed, it is often necessary that finished workpieces be introduced into an assembly line (e.g., for the assembly of automobiles) at a certain point. In order to achieve the introduction of workpieces into the assembly line in the most efficient manner possible, manufacturers often require that the finished workpieces be provided at the assembly line positioned in a particular manner on a pallet. Also, each pallet holding the finished workpieces typically is uniform, and in a specific configuration for ease of handling at the assembly line. This enables the manufacturer to set up a method for unloading the workpieces from the standard pallet which is repeated while the assembly line is in operation.
In addition, manufacturers often rely upon third party suppliers to manufacture a particular workpiece, in whole or in part. This is done where a supplier can perform one or more steps in the manufacture of a certain workpiece at a unit cost significantly lower than the manufacturer's unit cost. In these circumstances, the manufacturer typically provides the raw materials (e.g., semi-processed workpieces) to the third party supplier positioned on the manufacturer's standard pallet. The manufacturer also typically requires that the supplier is to return the standard pallet, with the finished workpieces positioned thereon in the manufacturer's predetermined position, once the supplier has done the work required on the workpieces.
Another aspect of this procedure is the recent adoption by many manufacturers of “just-in-time” delivery of parts by suppliers. Often, the third party supplier is obligated to provide a relatively large volume of finished workpieces on relatively short notice. In practice, suppliers are required to maintain relatively high levels of finished inventory. In these circumstances, if the manufacturer's standard pallet is not stackable, then the finished inventory occupies a relatively large amount of floor space in the supplier's plant.
A typical standard manufacturer's pallet 10 of the prior art is shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, with workpieces 12 positioned thereon, in a predetermined position. FIG. 1A is a side view of a portion of the standard manufacturer's pallet 10 of the prior art and a stack 14 of workpieces 12 showing the pallet 10 on a floor 15.
It will be appreciated that the workpieces 12 are held in a stack and in a predetermined position on the standard manufacturer's pallet 10 by a series of clamps 16 and upright bars 17 which are generally maintained in position by means of fasteners such as nuts and bolts, as is known in the art. The standard manufacturers' pallet suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example, standard manufacturers' pallets are not generally stackable. Also, positioning the stack 14 on the standard manufacturer's pallet 10 can be awkward, as the clamps 16 and upright bars 17 are inconvenient to tighten and loosen.
There exists a need for a pallet system having a pallet system for maintaining a stack of substantially uniform workpieces in alignment with each other.